Ascension Presents. Let's talk about Lent. When it comes to Lent

you know we have to do something, we have to give up something for Lent, obviously, we

all have this. But one of the things that we typically can do, we can fall into the

trap of either seeing Lent as like this is the time I really just challenge myself

and try to do something impossible not because it's like a good thing for me to

do, but just kind of like I wonder if I can do something difficult. Or we do the

opposite, we like we do something so minimal that it actually makes no

difference in our life and hardly even noticed it. I once knew a woman who would

give up eating watermelon for Lent in Minnesota in the wintertime. She may or

may not have been one of my sisters. Or or we do that with a whole twofer the

twofer thing like, "Well I mean I guess I've been meaning to lose some weight

anyways and I'm ... if I gave up snacking then maybe I get you know two-for-one,"

kind of thing. No, that's not bad but it misses the point. The point of Lent is

what? Well, where's the origin of Lent? Back in the day like like almost

2000 years ago, almost—only a couple centuries shy—people came into the

Church, it was a long process. In the last little stretch of time in that coming

into the Church was a season called the season of purification and enlightenment.

The whole idea was this, "OK, what's still in my life that can't

be in my life if I'm going to follow after Jesus. So I need be purified of

that." Second thing, that enlightenment, is "What are the ways which I need to take

steps to follow after Jesus to get closer to him and to start conforming them,

conforming my life, to his." How can I let God use this time in me to make me the

person he wants me to be? How do I be a saint? So you can realize this. OK, so

giving up some M&Ms might not make me a saint. What will? Jesus would often talk

about these three areas: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. My invitation to you is

pick one thing in these three areas— prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—and do

that thing, but when you do it be really intentional. So when it comes to prayer,

OK, what's one thing? What's one kind of way in which you can develop your

relationship with Jesus through prayer this Lent? So sometimes again people say,

"Well I, you know, I'm gonna pray 12 Rosaries a day." Why? "Because it's really

tough and I think I'd probably grow." Well if

you think that that is actually what God's calling you to, then fantastic.

Maybe go ahead and try that. I like to just take time aside and have just 15

minutes, not forever, but just 15 minutes of reading the Gospels; or I'll listen to

them and I'll listen to like the audio Bible, whatever. You just listen to the

Gospels and just kind of sit with Jesus and walk with him through the Gospels. I'll

press pause or I'll stop reading and just kind of pray and sit with Jesus.

Those 15 minutes are so helpful. They're not like deal breakers in the sense that

they're not so difficult, but they are incredibly helpful because I know that

they get me closer to Jesus. So what's one prayer thing you could do it would

actually help you get closer to Jesus. Second thing: fasting. Now keeping in mind

that the Church only asks us to actually fast on two days: Ash Wednesday at the

beginning of Lent and Good Friday, the day after the end of Lent, or the first

day of the Tridium. Good Friday and Ash Wednesday, and that fast also—I mean you've

probably heard about this—it's like what two small meals and one regular sized

meal it's not bigger than both to size meals, you know, two small meals combined.

Whatever. It's not really a fast. It's fun because I mean the fasting isn't about

how hard it is. It's about how is it, how does it conform our hearts to Jesus. So

what kind of fast do you need to have in your life? You're fast doesn't

have to have anything to do with food. Maybe you'd say well I want to fast from

social media, or I want to fast from something even more particular, from

checking my phone all the time. I want to fast from texting. I mean, I imagine if

you're living with someone, if you're living with your family, if you have some friends, one

of the things that they probably notice is how often you're on your phone. Maybe

a fantastic thing to do for you during Lent is to say, "I'm gonna fast from that

I'm only gonna check my phone maybe ..." whatever the thing is. You set it up for

yourself, but what's something that you could get out of your life that will

purify your life. I know so many of my college students—and not just our

college students, but college students or just people young adults—who they're

go to, "I'm not doing anything, Netflix, I'm supposed to be

doing something, Netflix." Maybe, maybe if you say I need to purify my life from

some things that are keeping me from the Lord and Netflix is or Facebook or

Twitter, or Instagram, whatever the thing is, it's keeping me from being present so maybe

that's something you need to fast from. So prayer, fasting.

Third thing: almsgiving. The first two are kind of about you so what do I need to

be purified from, what do I ... how do I need to get close to the Lord?

Almsgiving is all about how can I allow this time, how can I how can I let God

use me during this time to bless others. And now it could actually be, "OK, who

am I going to give money to? Could be about money. But I know other people who

will say this, they'll say, "I'm gonna give time." How do you give time? You can

volunteer of course, but that's not an everyday kind of thing. I know some

people who have taken Lent and what they've done is they've decided that for

every day during Lent they're gonna write a small note short note of

encouragement or so short note of gratitude to people in their lives who

they're thankful for, and so at the beginning of Lent they write down 40

names so it's already decided and then each day sit down,

here's a note write it to the person, send it in the mail, send it off. And that

kind of thing is just like I'm taking time to bless someone else so it's

basically an almsgiving kind of thing. Now you might decide that you actually

want to give money, so a great thing to do is to do that consistently throughout

the entire season of Lent. One of the most common things we have of course

in our churches is we have Catholic Relief Services and so you have those

Operation Rice Bowl, the cardboard thing you pop it into a box and it's really

cool, sits on the on the countertop. Now that's great but here's the thing, we

have to do it like Jesus would do it. So would Jesus

throw his leftover pennies that he didn't even want in Operation Rice Bowl,

and be like, "Hey I'm a good person. I'm Jesus." That's my voice for Jesus

apparently. "I am a good person. I put some pennies into a box." What is

that? Let's be intentional about this. At the end of Lent when you open up your

Operation Rice Bowl, you should only see silver and green, and white, like green ...

dollars right because, because of this: because how life-transforming for

yourself is it if I just throw in what's left over. Secondly, if we're actually

called to be Christians. We're called to not just give from our surplus. We're

actually called to give from our need. We're actually called to give from our

substance, not just our surplus. So this Lent, what's one thing you're going to do

in the area of prayer that will actually help you get closer

to the Lord, one thing in the area of fasting that will actually purify

and get some really some things out of your life that you just don't need,

and what's one thing in your life, one way that this line you're going to be

giving alms or giving back or offering to other people. Now here's the last

thing: When it comes to what you're doing for Lent should you ever tell anyone? And

of course the first reading of the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, is always

about don't you left hand know what your right hand is doing and keep your secret

your holy beads private, that kind of thing, which is awesome because that's

what Jesus said. But here's my thing I think people get a little too

preoccupied a little too like sensitive about, like, "Well I don't want to, you know, tell

people what I'm doing for Lent because that's one get a big head. I don't want to be

prideful." Now, here's the thing. You might be like the most hardcore Catholic on

your block in your neighborhood and so like, "Yeah I'm giving up beer for Lent."

"Whoa dude you're hardcore." But if you realize that there are saints throughout

the history of the Church who like literally gave up food for Lent the

entire season of Lent. I'm not saying that's a good thing to do but I'm just

saying that like my, "Oh, I'm giving up coffee" isn't as hardcore as I think it is and

so if I think, "Oh I don't wanna get prideful or get a big head," like, you

won't. It's actually bit more humbling to say, "What are you doing for Lent?" "Well I'm

praying 15 minutes every night." "Oh, thank you Father that's really intense." Well no

it doesn't have to be intense. I know that it helps. So for you, sometimes if

someone asks what you're doing for Lent, don't worry about being prideful. It's

probably not that big of a deal. From all of us here at Ascension Presents, my name

is Father Mike. God bless.